Power Served on Grass : Wimbledon: Big hitters are expected to be in the forefront as the tournament begins today at All England Club.

It’s a jungle in here at the All England Club where the big hitters, the crass on grass, begin a two-week assault to try to return tennis’ balance of power to its rightful position.

That would be at the net, the traditional grass-court position of influence that Andre Agassi somehow managed to avoid, shifting to the baseline last year when he tilted tennis on its ear.

So when Wimbledon begins today on the courts behind the ivy-colored walls on Church Road, it’s going to be up to the serve-and-volley players to prove that tennis’ most coveted crown belongs to the power people.

Agassi’s unexpected victory at Wimbledon last year clearly was a landmark performance, not solely because the triumph was his first in a Grand Slam tournament. No real baseline player had won at Wimbledon in 10 years, since Jimmy Connors defeated John McEnroe in five sets in 1982.

But there have been a lot of balls over the net since then. Connors is promoting his over-35 tour, McEnroe is in the NBC broadcast booth and Agassi is hurting.

Agassi’s effectiveness in defending his title is in doubt because of a sore wrist that has kept him sidelined for most of the year. What’s more, he lost his opening match in a Wimbledon warm-up event on a grass court in Halle, Germany, last week and complained about his elbow.

Agassi, who plays Bernd Karbacher today, didn’t arrive in London until Friday. He was photographed with his right wrist in a brace, but carrying a briefcase in the same hand. As for Agassi’s chances, experts can make only a brief case.

But then not too many thought he would win last year, either.

“I was obviously a bit surprised that he won it,” said Pete Sampras, who lost to Goran Ivanisevic in the semifinals. “I thought the winner of my match with Goran was going to win the tournament. Obviously, he proved me wrong.

“But this year, it will be my guess that the big server will win,” he said. “Edberg, Becker, Stich, Ivanisevic or me.”

The same holds true in the women’s field, where defending champion Steffi Graf and nine-time former champion Martina Navratilova are projected to be matching serves in the final.

There may be some doubts, though. Graf’s confidence is up after winning the French Open, but she isn’t completely healthy. Navratilova won at Eastbourne last week, but she has played only nine matches since late February and might be rusty.

Sampras said his shoulder is a little sore, but he isn’t rusty, even after getting bounced out of an early round at the Queen’s Club tournament in London. After that, his preparation involved a little practicing on grass, hitting the West End theaters and getting an invitation to hit around with Elton John.

“Good forehand, backhand a little dodgy,” Sampras said.

The odds on Sampras at Wimbledon might be a little better than Elton John’s backhand. He might have won last year if not for Ivanisevic, who had the serve of his life for two weeks--206 aces in seven matches.

If Stefan Edberg, Boris Becker, Michael Stich or Ivanisevic don’t win it, then Sampras just might. The trick is to hit serves harder, volley better and return faster than anyone else . . . and follow the bouncing ball.

“You have to be 100% mentally ready to play because anything can happen,” Sampras said. “A couple of bad bounces, a couple of bad calls, it’s not like you can really work your way into the match. You can already be gone by then.

“Wimbledon is two opposite weeks. The first week, the grass is very thick, the ball bounces very low and the return of serve is definitely the hardest shot in the game. You only have a couple of chances to break serve. Boom and you’re down a break.

“In the second week, there’s almost no grass out there. It’s even more difficult to pass because the ball bounces in so many different directions.”

All in all, it’s not a particularly breezy situation, which ought to give former champions such as Becker (three times), Edberg (twice) and Stich (once) an edge.

It also speaks volumes for Agassi’s ability to return serve, even though he risked great personal injury facing up to Ivanisevic’s serve, which produced 37 aces in last year’s final.

Sampras’ semifinal appearance was by far his best Wimbledon result. In three previous trips, he had not advanced past the second round. Sampras is optimistic he is on the way up at Wimbledon.

“I’m hoping I can play as I did last year,” he said. “The fact that I played well here last year, I’m going in with a lot of confidence. I’ve really struggled at Wimbledon, I know.”

Actually, Sampras is something of a novice on grass. He did not play a grass-court event until 16, when he lost in the USTA national grass-court championships in Philadelphia. But he teamed with Matt Lucena to win the doubles, Sampras’ only national junior title.

It was only then that Sampras began to discover why grass is so bedeviling.

“It was a pretty frustrating surface to play on,” he said. “I think that’s why Borg was so good--he didn’t let anything bother him.

“For the most part, I’ve got a pretty cool head on my shoulders. But there are times you want to crack your racket. I haven’t done that yet.”

Neither has Sampras won Wimbledon, although it’s possible. At least he is showing tennis’ greatest prize the respect it deserves.

He calls Wimbledon “the big W.”

The Big W?

“Yeah, it’s the Big Kahuna, the big one, the big slam.”

When the chase for the biggest prize in tennis begins today, it seems pretty clear that for people such as Sampras and Becker and Edberg and Stich and Ivanisevic, they can only hope that the force is with them.

Wimbledon Notes

What does Boris Becker think of Jim Courier’s chances at Wimbledon? Apparently not much. “He’s a patient and cool guy, but at Wimbledon these days, it’s better to be the quick-strike guy,” Becker told Tennis Magazine. “I don’t know if Jim’s hands are soft enough, and I’m not sure he has the type of reflexes that you need to make pick-up volleys or stretching ones.” . . . Other first-round matches today feature Michael Chang against Paul Haarhuis, Stefan Edberg against Canadian qualifier Greg Rusedski, Michael Stich against Jan Siemerink, Richard Krajicek against Nicklas Kulti and Ivan Lendl against qualifier Brian Devening. In the only women’s match of note, Gabriela Sabatini plays Carrie Cunningham.